Chandigarh/Ludhiana, September 13:
Cabinet Minister for Power Sanjeev Arora today announced a comprehensive “make-over” to upgrade power lines across Punjab. Arora said that during various election meetings this had been the primary demand of the people.
Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has launched a special project to upgrade power lines in 13 major Municipal Corporations, covering 87 PSPCL subdivisions, to improve public safety, reduce outages, and enhance city aesthetics.
Key components of the project
1. Removal of non-electric wires from PSPCL poles: All dish cables, internet fibre and other non-PSPCL wiring will be cleared from PSPCL poles to enhance public safety and enable faster, more accurate visual inspection and fault detection.
2. Raising low-hanging electric wires and cables: Lines will be brought to safe heights to prevent accidents, particularly those involving large vehicles.
3. Replacement of multiple cable joints: Multiple joints will be removed and replaced with continuous new cable to reduce outages, voltage fluctuations and fire hazards.
4. Sealing of open meter boxes: Meter boxes will be securely closed and sealed to protect against weather, tampering and to improve overall public safety.
Scope and rollout
– Municipal Corporations covered: Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala, Bathinda, Phagwara, Mohali, Moga, Hoshiarpur, Pathankot, Abohar, Batala and Kapurthala.
– Total coverage: 87 PSPCL subdivisions across the 13 Municipal Corporations.
– Pilot project: A pilot project will begin in the City West Ludhiana Subdivision on 25 feeders. PSPCL will supply all required materials; the labour component for the pilot (amounting to approximate ₹1.2 crore) will be outsourced to ensure rapid execution. The pilot project is scheduled for completion within two months. The Pilot project will cover some areas of Ludhiana West and North; MLA West Constituency covers areas including Aarti Chowk, Baba Balak Nath Road, Basant Road, Circuit House, College Road, CP Office, Dandi Swami Road, DC Office, Deewan Hospital Road, Dr. Hira Singh Road, Durga Mata Mandir, Dyal Nagar, Feroz Gandhi Market, Ferozepur Road, Friends Colony, Ghumar Mandi, Gobind Nagar, Green Field, Green Park, Guru Nanak Bhawan, Guru Nanak Stadium, HaibowalChowk, Hero Bakery Chowk, Jagjit Nagar, Jaswant Nagar, Kitchlu Nagar, Kochar Market, Krishna Nagar, Lekhi Road, Loomba Street, Mall Enclave, Mall Road, Malerkotla House, Malwa School Road, Maya Nagar, Mayor House, Maharaj Nagar, Model Gram, National Road, New Courts Complex, New Lajpat Nagar, New Prem Nagar, Nihal Chand Road, Officers Colony, PAU Road, Pakhowal Road, Park Street, Partap Colony, Patel Nagar, Police Lines, Prince Hostel, Rani Jhansi Road, Rajpura Pind, Rakh Bagh, Rose Enclave, Rose Garden, Saggu Chowk, Sangat Road, Sant Isher Nagar, Sant Nagar, Sargodha Colony, Sham Singh Road, Shakti Nagar, Shivdev Marg, Tagore Nagar, Udham Singh Nagar and Vishwamitter Street.
MLA North Constituency encompasses Damoria Bridge, New Kudanpuri, Shahi Mohalla, Guru Nanak Pura, Kudan Puri, Chander Nagar, Deep Nagar, New Deep Nagar, Vivek Nagar, Ram Nagar, Dushera Ground, Upkar Nagar, New Upkar Nagar, Bindraban Road, Women Cell, Satsang Road, Champa Street, United Street, Kailash Chowk, Rajinder Nagar, Akash Puri, Neem Chowk, Jandu Chowk, Park Lane Road, Shiv Mandir Chowk and Prem Nagar.
– Full rollout: Based on lessons learned from the pilot, the programme will be implemented in next phase across all 87 subdivisions, with a target completion date of June 2026.
Expected benefits
– Immediate reduction in accidents caused by low-hanging lines and entanglement with non-electric wiring.
– Faster fault detection and response, leading to fewer and shorter power outages.
– Reduced voltage fluctuations and fire risk through elimination of multiple cable joints.
– Improved protection of metering equipment and reduced tampering, enhancing consumer safety and reliability.
– Cleaner streetscapes and improved urban aesthetics.
Other present during the press conference along with Hon’ble Cabinet Minister Sanjeev Arora, were DC Himanshu Jain, Director Transmission Inderpal, Chief Engineer PSPCL Jagdev Singh Hans and other senior officials of PSPCL.
